Ernie Royer
Alyssa Arnell
History 106
27 March 2025
Alyssa Arnell
History 106
27 March 2025
The 1930s, Week 9 Discussion
The United States during the 1930s is defined by the Great Depression and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program. This historical period shows connections to the modern United States through economic overhauls, social inequality, a change in the government's role, and marginalized groups' resilience. The New Deal’s attempt to address the financial situation across society made it clear how complex social and economic reforms are to accomplish.
The most parallel topic between the 1930s and today is the economic crisis and government intervention. The Great Depression was a never-before-seen period of financial hardship. Unemployment soared from 3.2% to 25%, “...industrial production declined by 50 percent, international trade plunged 30 percent, and investment fell 98 percent.” (Mintz). These terrible economic conditions made the lives of middle-class Americans very hard. The depression was caused by high tariffs, insufficient purchasing power among the middle class, and the stock market’s dependence on credit. These variables contracted the American money supply into a state of depression. Today, we see a similar economic climate brewing: tariffs, declining commodity values, declining stock market, wrongheaded government policies, which will soon result in inflation, unemployment, and a decrease in globalization. President Franklin D. Roosevelt suggested the New Deal, a historic economic turning point. This deal established the concept of government safety nets to ensure the health and well-being of our nation's citizens and economy. The New Deal’s government expansion created a legacy of social welfare programs still used to create stability.
Social inequalities within the 1930s are still relevant in modern society. Widespread mistreatment of marginalized groups such as people of color, women, the elderly, the disabled, and refugees was commonplace. The League of the Physically Handicapped set out to fight for equal rights for marginalized groups, eventually leading to Social Security Disability. The New Deal attempted to fix these marginalizations by advancing racial justice and gender equality. Roosevelt once said, “We are going to make a country in which no one is left out”(The Roosevelt I Knew, Frances Perkins, New York: The Viking Press, 1946, p. 113). The president had good intentions towards overcoming the oppressive, discrimination-based challenges in society, although his execution was in no way flawless. Despite this era having support for these groups, Gender norms still limited women’s opportunities within New Deal programs, like the Economy Act of 1933, which unfairly impacted married women’s employment within government positions. The New Deal created the Federal Housing Administration to create guaranteed home loans to families. However, this program used redlining, drawing actual redlines on maps around low-income areas to mark unacceptable credit risks. These procedures negatively affected people of color's ability to acquire homes. While the “inquire about an applicant’s race or ethnicity, made it appear that loan decisions were based only on other factors. However, the FHA’s underwriting manual indicated the belief that property values deteriorated when black families moved into neighborhoods.” (Saylor Academy), effectively stopping families of color from buying homes in white neighborhoods. These roadblocks served as a lasting statement towards inequality in the United States, as homeownership is a primary driver of wealth accumulation. These inequalities have created a compounding effect on wealth inequality throughout the decades.
The 1930s and the New Deal have relevant connections to the current United States environment. Financial stability, the government's role in providing it, and social justice struggles will remain relevant in the United States until they are fully flushed out. The New Deal unevenly impacted different groups of people, showing how important it is to adjust public policy with pre-existing inequalities in mind. Confronting these issues is the key to cultivating an even playing field so that all citizens have an equal shot at success, ensuring that everyone can benefit from participating in our country's economy.
Works Cited
Mintz, S, and S McNeil. “Digital History.” Www.digitalhistory.uh.edu, 2018, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=14&smtid=1. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.Saylor Academy. “Last Hired, First Fired: Women and Minorities in the Great Depression.” Github.io, 2019, saylordotorg.github.io/text_a-history-of-the-united-states-vol-2/s10-02-last-hired-first-fired-women-a.html. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.